Housing market steadily recovers

The housing market continues to show signs of recovery as house price growth remains relatively stable*.

In February, the average UK house price rose by 0.4% - the sixth consecutive monthly increase. Meanwhile, annual growth was at 3.9% - only marginally lower than the pace of growth in January (4.1%). This steady increase is likely due to a spike in market activity - in the second half of 2024, housing transactions were up 14% in comparison to the previous year.

However, we are heading into more challenging times due to the recent Stamp Duty changes. According to Robert Gardner, Chief Economist at Nationwide, “This will likely lead to a jump in transactions in March, and a corresponding period of weakness in the following months, as occurred in the wake of previous stamp duty changes.”

*Nationwide, 2025